Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player
(36)
Joined: 6/12/2011
Posts: 30
Bounty: Multiple bounties ranging from $20 to OVER $500Game: Quest for Glory 1 through 5; the whole series!!!
System: PC - MS-DOS for the first 4 games, Windows for QFG5
Version: Any
Category: Any%, 100%, Marathon%
If a glitch is found that skips most of the game, are you still planning on paying out? If it can be reasonably performed in a RTA by a human, then yes! I reserve the right to determine what "reasonably" means.
Conditions:
Run needs to be accepted by TASVideos to qualify. Marathon% is an import game run from one to the next, and I will offer the highest bounty for that category. Difficulty plays a huge part, i.e., Fighter route in Marathon% will net more than Thief for this category. I know the difficulties well.
No cheat codes (QFG1EGA and QFG2EGA). No stat glitches on character creation.
No time requirements, but it should beat my records.
Due date:
Open forever! Message me directly, or on our QFG Speedrunning Discord: https://discord.gg/QwhuWWH!
Bounties Claimed So Far:Quest for Glory 1 EGA - Any% by c-squareQuest for Glory 2 EGA - Any% by c-square
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player
(36)
Joined: 6/12/2011
Posts: 30
Trying to add my info the forums, regardless of how dead they may appear. I'm sure someone will TAS this fantastic game soon. I currently have the world records on all five games Any% for all character classes, so I've done quite a bit of routing, and there is quite a bit of missing info from the route proposed (but a good start).
The Magic-User is the fastest because of a game-breaking glitch I discovered that allows you to go straight to the Brigand Leader and exit (Baba Yaga optional). You do NOT need to hear the password for the cave if you are using the original Hero's Quest 1.0 version of the game. You can type "hiden goseke" and the troll will move:
- Start game, all points into Strength (for moving the rock door).
- Speed up game to fastest setting, skip sheriff's text.
- Buy open, exit town.
- Go to Erana's Peace, cast open, get calm spell.
- Run to rock door, cast open near door, move rock, "hiden goseke"
- Move through cave
- Cast calm on Minotaur, cast open, open door
- Get through the Brigand's area and cafeteria
- Ask about Elsa to Yorick so he leaves, get through maze.
- When in Brigand Leader's room "throw dagger" and your character will unlock.
- Exit and the game ends with a win.
- Optional: You CAN get the Magic Mirror after your character is unlocked, but the speed has to be set high enough, otherwise it moves to a screen that is a close-up of Elsa. You can then go to Baba Yaga and win that way, but you'll need the gem from the Giant.
All of this will end the game by mid-day on the first day. I currently have the WR on this route at 2m 17s, and I'm sure a TAS could go sub 2m easily. The full route is just slightly more involved, but not really. Sub 5 minutes is definitely possible there, because I am currently at 5m 30s range in the Dispel Potion route.
Don't hesitate to message me here or on SDA, or even better, email me at this user name @ gmail. I love talking about this series and have routes for all of them.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player
(36)
Joined: 6/12/2011
Posts: 30
100% adds a good hour of time at best to each entry
I was totally wrong on this. I have the 100% records on QFG2 for all characters now, and the Fighter (slowest) is only 20 minutes longer RTA. 100% is probably doable in 2 to 3 hours (QFG5 will easily be the longest), but there are several games (Final Fantasy VIII, anyone) that have MUCH longer times.
It still seems like a moot point. I am not skilled enough in TASing, and I'm not sure I could learn it with my schedule as a dad, grad student and pastor. :/ I'd be MORE than happy to assist with what technical questions come up.
As I gather more input into the series, I'll keep depositing info here.
I'll be running the series at RPG Limit Break 2016 in May! Keep an eye open on May 11th at 5:00PM on Twitch.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player
(36)
Joined: 6/12/2011
Posts: 30
Radiant wrote:
I think TAS-wise, having a QFG2 run start from scratch (instead of from a saved game of QFG1) would be a better idea. For a longplay, it's great that you can import a char to the next game; but a TAS is not a longplay.
Regardless, I think that adventure games are an underrepresented genre on the site.
Well, the import from game to game was the original point of this thread all those years ago, so I was adding my knowledge of what was necessary to complete the original poster's idea.
Also, I wouldn't exactly call it a longplay. Those usually keep everything in, and are 100%. 100% adds a good hour of time at best to each entry, from my estimates, although I admit 100% is not my category. The marathon (1-5) Any% run still skips everything non-essential, and in these games, there is a metric ton that are side-quests.
My QFG1-4 marathon. Adding the fifth game to the end of this only adds about 8 minutes thanks to a glitch that skips you to the end, bringing the final time to under 1h:25m:
Link to video
Here is Puri's 100% Wizard marathon run. Notice, over 5h:30m long, and well routed:
http://www.twitch.tv/puri_puri/c/5456322
I agree, however, that a TAS of each individual entry with a new game from scratch Any% and 100% would be my preferred place to see this game start, but there is definitely a precedent. QFG, with its stats system, does have quite a bit of thought and planning necessary to do a solid marathon run.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player
(36)
Joined: 6/12/2011
Posts: 30
I realize this thread has been out of commission for sometime, but I want to make sure that there is a database of some of my findings in the QFG games. I have the records on the QFG games as of this post and the SDA verified runs of all 5 games, and would love to see a TAS of the marathon game (QFG1-5).
If you have specific questions about the route and game, email me, incase I don't get back here frequently. It's my username here @gmail.com.
The major problem would be the transition from QFG4 to QFG5, because QFG4 is DOS and QFG5 is Windows. TASes aren't my strong point, so I'll just throw that out there. I want to answer some of the objections:
1) Gameplay-wise this just means that you get to start the latter four games with a stronger character than you "deserve"; this is artificially making the game easier via dirty SRAM, which is generally frowned-on.
Far from making the game easier, when speedrunning it becomes harder; particularly between games 1 and 3. By game 4, it is a non-issue, but you can have some magic spells that are unacquirable that can significantly speed up the route (Trigger and Open, Trigger being a necessity for QFG5 outside of TAS).
For the discussion about the issues of money in QFG2, the is only really a problem if you plan on doing it legitimately. Meeting with Dinarzad is significantly faster than grinding money, without a doubt, and you get enough to get through the game without having to trade in increments of 50. Fastest of all is using the "sell beard" glitch, which isn't any different than 90% of the glitches already on the site.
if you go the wizard route, you must do the WIT training, which is a big time sink for a speedrun
You don't need to do the WIT training. The end-game events only change if you have the Reversal spell. If you do not, you can finish the game as if you were a fighter or thief going the standard route (not through the harem).
so would the vga version of qfg1 be slower? My gut tells me it would but mousing is probably quicker then typing. Oh and the vga version has a stat bug at the start so there shouldn't be any grinding in that version.
This is probably the most technical question of the entire planning phase. :/ And it shouldn't be, if not for the glitchfest that is the QFG series.
Here is the major problem with picking the different versions. There is a MAJOR skip in BOTH games. If you throw a dagger randomly in the Brigand Leader's room, it unlocks your character and you can walk out without having saved Elsa. You can literally run to the last room of the game and come out with a saved Hero file. QFG1EGA is about 2:00 long, and QFG1VGA is about 4:00 long. Might be shorter as TAS.
That saved import file is where the problem occurs. When you import from QFG1 to QFG2, you are supposed to have completed certain quests that will allow you to start with money in QFG2. How you get the money into your character file at the end of QFG1 is different depending on the version.
In QFG1EGA, you only have to complete the game and you will start with the corresponding amount of money. In QFG1VGA, getting the money is linked to throwing the Dispel Potion and the dialog thereafter with Elsa and Yorick (somewhere in there). If you glitch-end the QFG1VGA game, you start QFG2 with no money to convert as Dinarzad. If you glitch-end the QFG1EGA game, you do have the money.
It sounds like this would be an easy choice: QFG1EGA, because you get the money. If only it were that simple.
There is an export bug in QFG1EGA that makes your character in QFG2 a Fighter no matter whether you were a Thief or Mage in QFG1EGA. The thief and mage are the only classes, from my trials, that have viable, low-stat routes in QFG2. The Fighter is totally dependent on Weapon Skill to be able to hit the Earth Elemental with Rakeesh's Sword. To put it simply, you cannot have Weapon Skill strong enough to win. You will die as a Fighter. I have no idea how I will get past this without stat-glitching in QFG1.
This issue is FIXED with QFG1VGA; your character will import as the correct character class... but will also be flat broke... unless you are willing to use "sell beard" glitch. But you still won't have the proper stats in Weapon Skill to actually pull it off. Here's a quick table the describes the problem:
QFG1EGA -> QFG2 = Fatally wrong class/stats, plenty of money.
QFG1VGA -> QFG2 = Correct class, totally broke.
I noticed this major discrepancy when routing my QFG Any% Marathon which had the potential to include QFG2VGA (the remake). QFG2VGA is WAY faster because you can skip Raseir, which unless the TAS community can come up with something, I am totally stumped on. There is close to 10 minutes of mandatory waiting in QFG2 that you cannot skip, unless you are in the VGA remake.
Also, you are not locked into a particular class for the entire series. Between games you are allowed to switch classes.
As mentioned above, you cannot switch in QFG2. In QFG3 you can change your class on importing (Sierra noticed the problem and made it manually correctable) and in QFG4 you can do this also. QFG5 technically doesn't allow this.
It looks a bit ambitious and would rely on a good amount of luck in that the games in question DON'T CRASH (QfG 4's Error 52 being the infamous one)
This glitch is pretty much non-existent anymore thanks to the patches. And disabling EMS on QFG1VGA and QFG3 pretty much eliminates the fatal crashing ones.
I would still separate this from a single-game run, because while one specific class may work better for one specific game, there may be another class that works better for 3 of the games in the series.
The Thief class is the fastest in all of the games, with the exception of QFG1EGA and QFG5. That being said, the Thief in QFG1EGA matches the Wizard. The Wizard is the fastest in QFG5, thanks to a game-breaking glitch that skips 98% of the game and skips you to the end. (My record in QFG5 is under 6m:30s.)
I'm not certain that gameplay would be varied enough to warrant a playthrough of each game in each class.
That's definitely false. QFG2 is slightly different at about the 3:00 mark. But there are significant enough route differences in QFG3, QFG4 and QFG5 that would require major route changes if you were going to keep a Fighter or Wizard throughout the runs.
To beat the game as a thief, you need to purchase:
Lamp (10 w/bargain)
Waterskin (.5 bargain) You only need one, and you start with it.
Cloth Bag (.2, bargain)
Incense (.7, can't bargain)
Rope (115 w/ bargain) You can throw rocks at the Air Elemental, and you can fall or jump everywhere else. Of course, you need Magic to be able to skip the Thief's special Ad Avis ending, which you WILL want to do.
Map (not required, but saves tons of time, 1)
5 dinars to Unganate (sp?, not sure this is required) You only need 3 daggers, two for Ad Avis, and 1 for the cave trials, which is well below the starting 5. Actually, you only need one for Ad Avis at the end... although, Force Bolt is much less random.
